I Can Touch the Bottom (18 page)

It was as if something menacing was circulating throughout the night air as Ava and her man returned to her mother's house to drop off the children. It'd been one of those days that started off like any other; things were good, no big problems, no major issues. They'd enjoyed the day with Leela's kids, who were thankful to be out of the house, and Stackz's family, who seemed to accept her into their close-knit fold. All was well. Then
bam!
Out of the clear blue sky, things transformed within the blink of an eye. From the very moment they stepped foot outside of Chuck E. Cheese and Stackz laid eyes on that man and what she heard him say was his truck—or used to be his truck—the drama unfolded quickly and seemed to be never-ending. It was as if the devil had turned on the light switch in the middle of their calm, dimly lit serenity.

Ava had a sick sense watching Stackz transform into the shoulder to shoulder tattoo he'd proudly worn across his back for years: 100% GANGSTER. Somehow, Ava knew standing over to the side with Gee's woman and the children, the ride home and the rest of the evening would be on definite edge. And from the near-fatal and crime-filled chain of events thus far, she'd hit her mark. The sugar-to-shit evening could've, however, been much worse. They could have all been dead from the bevy of bullets Rank sent torpedoing their way, and Ava's house could've been burglarized by real thieves. As she settled back in the passenger seat, she knew there was one common factor in both of these mind-numbing actions: Leela. Her sister, her blood, her supposed-to-be best friend since birth. Ava could only pray for the girl to turn herself in to the law before not only Stackz got his hands on her, but she as well.

As Stackz tried his best to avoid the multitudes of potholes in the road, Ava couldn't imagine how the night could get any worse. He had the radio on low as to not wake up or disturb the children asleep in the rear of the truck. Stackz knew they had suffered enough trauma for the evening. In between running themselves ragged at Chuck E. Cheese, and then their own mother attempting to have them shot in what Stackz felt was a botched hood assassination, he just wanted to safely deliver them back to their grandmother the way he'd gotten them . . . alive and unharmed; well, at least, physically.

Having had ridden with his gun on his lap, Stackz parked in front of the house and checked his surroundings. He'd been caught slipping earlier and knew that could never take place again; not tonight—not ever.

Seeing the light she'd left on in the living room was now off, Ava was relieved knowing her mother had made it back home. Wanting nothing more than to take a long, hot bath at Stackz's condo, she was happy to drop her nieces and nephew off and do just that. Still cautious, she opened the passenger door, placing one foot down on the truck's running board. “Bae, hold tight real quick. I see the light I left on is off so I know my mother is back. I just wanna make sure she's not in there drunk and tripping. You know what I mean.” Ava looked over at Stackz, hoping after all that had taken place this evening he was sympathetic to her dilemma. “When she gets to drinking that cheap wine, she can't function properly.”

Looking up into the rearview mirror, Stackz saw the kids were still fast asleep, probably having nightmares of being cursed with such a bitter, vindictive bitch as a mother. “Ava, go ahead and see what's good with your old girl. I'm posted. And if it ain't right up in there, don't worry. Push come to shove, the little shorties can crash at my crib tonight with us. It's all good.”

* * *

“Ma, we back with the kids,” Ava shouted as she stood in the front doorway waiting for her mother to respond. Still in her feelings, not knowing where Leela was at or what she was capable of, Ava was spooked in the house she'd grown up in, as if she was a total stranger. Hearing nothing, she called out to her mother once more while walking into the living room turning on the lamp. “Ma, where you at? We back from Chuck E. Cheese.” Ava paused, looking toward the now once again dark kitchen. Hitting the light switch, she took notice of a brown paper bag on the countertop containing a fifth of whiskey in it, verifying her mother had indeed made it home.

Closing an open drawer, Ava then double-checked that the basement door was locked as she always did when stopping by. Seeing it was, she was relieved her mother hadn't at least accidently fallen down the stairs like she had in the past when she'd been out drinking with her friends. “Ma, where you at? Them kids need to go to bed. It's getting late! Where you at?”

Nearly exhausted herself, Ava was just ready to get this terrible night over once and for all. Coming out of the kitchen, she hoped her mother was not too intoxicated and was able to take care of what should have been Leela's responsibility and burden to bear.

Standing in the hallway, Ava quickly noticed the rear bathroom light was on and headed in that direction, praying for the best, but anticipating the worst.
Damn, don't let her silly ass be passed out in that motherfucker, please.

“Ma, Ma, are you in the bathroom or what? I know you hear me calling you. Are you in here?” Ava reached the semiclosed door. “Ma,” she loudly called again, slowly pushing the door open, “are you in here?”
Oh my God, no! What in the hell?
Stumbling backward away from the bathroom, Ava couldn't believe what her eyes were seeing. She wanted to scream out to Stackz for help. Unfortunately, her mouth couldn't seem to form the words. The night had just officially gone straight to hell.

“Yeah, I think I ripped a hole through the side of that motherfucker's head! Did you hear your ho-ass sister screaming and shit? Dumb bitch. Yeah, I think I hit 'em both. Yo, Leela, did you see that shit? That shit was live!” Rank was going on and on about what he'd just done. Still gone off the pills he was on, he felt like he could take on the world and win.

Equally as high as Rank, Leela's adrenalin was soaring for an altogether different reason. For her, it was more personal. Although deep down inside, she prayed her babies weren't shot or worse than that, dead, Leela was living her life under a brand-new set of rules she was making up as she went along. She was fed up with being a mother and having to deal with all the responsibility that came with it. She'd made up her mind back at Mrs. Baines's house she was going to get rid of Devin's kid even if she had to throw herself down a flight of stairs to do it.
Fuck one more mouth to feed
. Leela kept her eyes focused on the road as her thoughts raced.

If the devil was on her side, hopefully, Ava had taken one of those rounds intended for Stackz. She'd be done with Ava outdoing her all the time and people going around looking down on her because she wasn't as smart as Ava, as pretty as Ava, and as wise as Ava to not have three different deadbeat baby daddies. Leela felt like now that Ava was dead, it could finally be—fuck Ava! People would say why wasn't Ava as smart, pretty, and wise as Leela to avoid taking a bullet to the head and staying alive. Now would be Leela's time to shine.

* * *

Jointly, they decided it'd be in their best interest to get a new vehicle. Wanting to avoid contact with any of Stackz's people and the law that may have recognized the car they were in, Leela pulled over so they could devise a quick plan of their next move. Knowing they would need some extra cash, she suggested that they creep by her sister's house because she knew she had a few items of value they could flip right away. Pulling up a block over from Ava's house, Rank slid over to the driver's seat after Leela had gotten out. Paranoid off the pill high she was still on, Leela darted down the debris-filled alley and cut across a few vacant lots. In no time flat, she was rolling one of the black garbage cans underneath the kitchen window and breaking into the place she'd last called home.

Once inside, she went down in the basement, then up the stairs leading to Ava's part of the house. Running down the hallway, Leela knew just what she was looking for. Flicking on the bedroom light, she snatched her sister's jewelry box off the top of the dresser, grabbed her work bag off the chair, then maliciously raised her hand, knocking a couple of Ava's awards to the floor, stamping on them a few good times before she left.

By the time Leela had made it back to the car, Rank had already set up a buy with his used-to-be connect so he could cop some more pills. The only thing he needed and was counting on was Leela coming back with either some bread or something else she claimed Ava had they could quickly turn into cash.

“Okay, cool, you hit a lick. Just give me the jewelry and I'll go get us a new stash, dump this car, and get one we can pimp a few more days,” Rank plotted, still living in the celebration from believing he'd killed Stackz.

Not wanting to part with the jewelry, she'd been trusting Rank all of this time and he'd never crossed her once. So against her hood-raised judgment, she agreed. “All right then, just take me by my mother's house. Just like it's fuck Stackz and Ava, well, it's fuck her too!”

Rank had watched Leela turn into a complete savage since they'd teamed up on the run. He thought she might've at least been in her emotions about her kids and Ava being in that truck when he let loose, but she seemed more eager than he was to start shooting.

Ava's eyes widened, darting from the blood on the sink, to the blood on the side of the tub, to the bloody handprint that was smeared down the wall. Stumbling backward, she quickly got herself together. She had no choice. There her mother was, sprawled out on the black and pink ceramic tiled floor, facedown in a small pool of blood.

Running into the bathroom, Ava bent down to see if her mother was at least still breathing. With care, she placed one hand on the side of her mother's face, positioning the other on her waist. Turning her over, Ava could easily smell she reeked of wine and liquor and had urinated on herself. Ava was hurt seeing her mother in this condition. Her mouth was busted and the side of her jaw bruised as she fought to speak. Ava assumed she'd lost her balance trying to make it to the bathroom and fell like so many other times in the past. Ava felt disgusted having been down this road with her alcoholic mother on more than several occasions throughout the years. The entire night had been an utter nightmare . . . now this. Ava shook her head.

“Damn, Ma, you must've hit your face and mouth on the sink when you fell. You need to stop all this madness!” Growing queasy at the strong pungent smell taking over the bathroom, Ava carefully stepped over her mother's drunken body. With intentions of getting some air, she moved the shower curtain over to one side. Reaching her arm up to unlock the window, Ava was suddenly knocked into the glass. Feeling a hard object then strike the rear of her head, Ava's hand grabbed ahold of the curtains, snatching them off the rod as she fell to her knees. Dazed and confused as to what had happened, she could barely think, let alone stand up. What had to be her own blood poured down on her neck, then started to drench her shirt.

After a few brief seconds of being on her knees, Ava felt the intense onset of the worst pain she'd ever felt in her life. She didn't have time to get herself together or gather her thoughts as she heard Leela's voice calling her every name she could think of. Before Ava could say anything, her older sister snatched her up by the back of her collar, dragging her across their mother's body and out into the hallway.

“So you and that asshole parked out front still alive, huh?” Leela bowled Ava's unsteady body into the wall before kicking her in the side two good times. With the hammer she'd use to bust her sister's head wide open down at her side, Leela grew more enraged as well as deranged. “Damn, I guess Rank's aim ain't as good as his dumb ass think. But, hey, it ain't no thang. I'll take care of you, then Stackz myself, so fuck it.”

Ava reached one hand up to the rear of her head while keeping the other wrapped around her stomach and waist. Seeing that Ava called protecting herself from any more of her attacks, Leela struck again, this time bringing the sole of her shoe brutally down on Ava's face. Ava let out a grunt, followed by a few moans and groans. Finally catching her breath, she spoke out.

“Leela, why in the fuck you doing this to me, Momma, and the kids? What's wrong with you? Why? Have you lost your damn mind?”

“Fuck Momma.” Leela glanced back in the bathroom where their mother was still lying, bleeding from the mouth. “Her motherfucking ass talk too damn much. That's why I made a special trip to come over here and tap that ass. Then the bitch gonna show me some papers from the court saying you and her got joint guardianship over my kids. Hell naw! Fuck that sneaky bitch trying to come for my food stamps, and you too!”

“Really, Leela? You gonna do us all like that? For real?”

This wasn't the time or place for Leela to continue to answer who, what, or why with Ava. Playtime was over. “Look, I'm out here doing me, bitch, and that's fucking that.” She tried kicking Ava once more but was caught off guard as her leg was grabbed and she was yanked down off her feet. Having had the hammer fly out of her hand, she and Ava were now even. Side by side on the hallway floor next to Ava, the two sisters went at it, holding nothing back. As they clashed, each giving as good as they got, the younger sibling was at a slight disadvantage considering the hammer blow to the head she'd suffered. Leela, of course, capitalized on that fact, delivering punch after punch to the open leaking wound.

Somehow, during the course of the impromptu battle, the sisters got onto their feet, but were still throwing punches. Catching Ava right underneath her rib cage with her fist, Leela used her body weight bum-rushing her up against the wall, causing a picture of both of them and their mother to eerily fall off the nail and land on the floor. Leela paid no attention to the possible omen as she kept choking the life out of Ava.

* * *

Wondering what was taking Ava so long to come back out and get the kids, Stackz decided to go in. Making sure they were still asleep, he put one up top before getting out of the truck, pistol in hand. Closing the door as quietly as possible, he crept up on the front porch. Noticing that the door was cracked, Stackz eased it open, unsure of what was really taking place on the other side. Wisely not calling out Ava's name, he slow stepped his way into the living room. Hearing what he thought was the unique sound of someone grunting, then something crashing to the floor, Stackz wasted no more time in investigation mode, smelling imminent death in the air.

Bolting down the hallway, he ran up on Leela boldly attempting to send Ava on her way. Tucking his gun in the small of his back, Stackz used both hands whiplash yanking Leela by the weave, slinging her to the ground. Reaching downward, he wrapped his hands around her throat, lifting her up to eye level. “Now, bitch, how it feel to have somebody choke your no-good ass out, huh? This shit feel good? Do it,” he hissed with sheer malice in his voice. After a few more seconds of making her eyes damn near pop out of her head, he flung Leela's almost lifeless body to the floor once more. As he stood across the room trying to figure out the easiest way to kill her and be rid of the headache she'd become once and for all, Leela played the final card in her hand.

“You and that bitch Ava got me all fucked up.” She'd somehow managed to reach in her pocket and pull out the janky .22 she'd stolen from old Mrs. Baines. Pointing it directly at Stackz, she halfway grinned, seeing as he couldn't reach in his back waistband to get his gun without her firing off a shot or two. “Yeah, Stackz, it ain't never ever no fun when the rabbit got the gun, is it?”

Not fearing death, Stackz took one step toward Leela, daring her to pull the trigger. Out of options, she did just that, putting three slugs into his chest area. Not made of steel, the street warrior fell to the ground. Ava, who had recovered from being nearly strangled to death, was now hysterical as she crawled over to Stackz. Using her body to shield his from taking any more bullets, Ava sobbed, begging Leela to show them both some mercy.

Leela was now on her feet feeling victorious. As she boasted and bragged about all the things she'd wickedly done to those she felt had wronged her in some way, she failed to see Ava trying to get Stackz's gun on the sly.

“Leela,” her mother had finally come to and was delirious, stumbling down the hallway.

Seeing that her sister was momentarily distracted, Ava made one last-ditch effort to get Stackz's gun but was caught.

“Naw, bitch, naw! I know you don't think you that slick, or is it you think I'm that stupid? Either/or, all three of y'all motherfuckers gonna die tonight!” Leela raised her gun once more, aiming it directly at Ava's face.

Before Leela could pull the trigger, a thunderous sound of one single shot rang out, echoing off the walls. The ear-deafening blast went in through her lower back, causing her to fall to her knees. Leela's face was full of anguish. It told the agonizing story of pain, betrayal, hate, and low self-esteem in its purest form. As Leela gave in to death, she slumped over to the side. Behind Leela, her oldest daughter was in tears, having been knocked clear across the room after firing her grandmother's old-school 410 sawed off shotgun she'd been constantly warned to never touch unless it was an emergency.

Ava couldn't believe what had just happened. She was frozen until the annoying alert tone of her sister's cell snapped her out of her dazed trance. After calling the ambulance for Stackz, her mother, and herself from her cell, she took Leela's phone out of her back pocket. Reading the text Rank had just sent, Ava now had the address of where he wanted her sister to meet up with him. Wanting to put an end to all of her and Stackz's problems, Ava called T. L., telling him what had just happened and where he could catch up with an unsuspecting Rank. After tonight, there would be no loose ends. She and Stackz could finally be free to live their lives in peace.